Posts by Ryan (Page 3)

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Line-following robot and mini-sumo main board from tdrobótica.co

Posted by Ryan on 30 March 2017
Tags: distributors

One of our distributors in Colombia, tdrobótica.co, has developed a line-following robot kit and a mini-sumo main board kit.

The first kit includes everything you need to build a sleek line-following robot. It uses an Arduino-compatible A-Star 32U4 Micro as the main controller. It also uses a DRV8833 Dual Motor Driver Carrier, two Pololu micro metal gearmotors, brackets, and a 3/8″ ball caster.

The second kit is also based on the A-Star 32U4 Micro and DRV8833 carrier, and it includes much of the electronics needed to build a custom mini-sumo robot, including a buzzer, a voltage regulator, and an IR receiver for controlling it with a TV remote. It has two DRV8833 carriers, each with their channels paralleled to drive a total of two motors. There are connection points for 7 digital sensors (up to 5 can be analog).

tdrobótica.co’s mini-sumo main board kit.

For more information (in Spanish), see the line-following robot kit and a mini-sumo main board product pages.

FEETECH Ultra-High-Torque, High-Voltage Digital Giant Servo FT5335M

Posted by Ryan on 29 March 2017
Tags: new products

We added the FEETECH Ultra-High-Torque, High-Voltage Digital Giant Servo FT5335M to our expanding RC servo selection. This giant-scale digital servo can deliver twice the torque of our strongest standard-size servo, offering up to 550 oz-in at 7.4V or 480 oz-in at 6 V. This torque requires significant power: the FT5335M can draw bursts of current over 9 A at 7.4 V, and unlike typical hobby servos, has an operating voltage range of 6 V to 7.4 V.

FEETECH Ultra-High-Torque, High-Voltage Digital Giant Servo FT5335M compared to a standard-size servo.

The FEETECH Ultra-High-Torque, High-Voltage Digital Giant Servo FT5335M has an all-metal gear train.

This servo is a lower-cost alternative to the very similar 1235MG from Power HD. The two servos are approximately the same size, though the mounting hole spacing differs between the two, and they have almost identical performance specifications. The output shaft of the 1235MG is supported by two ball bearings while the output shaft of the FT5335M is supported by bushings. The picture below shows both the FT5335M and the 1235MG side-by-side:

Expect more new FEETECH servos in the coming weeks!

Aluminum standoff for Raspberry Pi

Posted by Ryan on 29 March 2017
Tags: new products

We are now carrying the Aluminum Standoff for Raspberry Pi: 11mm Length, 4mm M2.5 Thread, M-F. The 11 mm body length is just right for mounting expansion PCBs or HATs with standard-size female headers on a Raspberry Pi. The male M2.5 threads extend another 4 mm past the standoff body, and the female M2.5 threads extend at least 6.35 mm into the body. We carry M2.5 nuts and 6 mm M2.5 screws separately.

Two of these standoffs are needed to mount a Raspberry Pi on a Balboa 32U4 robot:

Balboa 32U4 Balancing Robot with 80×10mm wheels and a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.

We also carry a 11 mm standoff with longer, 6mm threads. (We do not recommend these for the Balboa because the threads hit the robot chassis.)

Romi and Raspberry Pi robot

Posted by Ryan on 28 March 2017

Forum user DrGFreeman has been busy making robots. I wrote earlier about his Custom Mini Sumo robot; now here is his Romi Chassis and Raspberry Pi robot. It solves mazes using a webcam to do line tracking and intersection identification. This robot is a great example of how a variety of Pololu robot parts can combine into an attractive and functional robot. A black Romi chassis kit provides the base for the robot, to which DrGFreeman added a encoder pair kit and ball caster kit. An A-Star 32U4 Robot Controller SV with Raspberry Pi Bridge drives the motors and monitors four Sharp GP2Y0A60SZLF analog distance sensors and the Romi encoders. The robot controller and the Raspberry Pi communicate via I²C and are elevated above the chassis on a narrow Pololu RP5/Rover 5 expansion plate.

DrGFreeman is also working on a mast for three VL53L0X time-of-flight distance sensor carriers that he plans to add for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).

For more videos, pictures, and details, see the forum thread. The robot’s Raspberry Pi (Python) and Arduino code is available on GitHub.

Raspberry Pi, A-Star 32U4, and Wild Thumper robot

Posted by Ryan on 27 March 2017

Forum user coyotlgw made this teleoperated Raspberry Pi robot. The robot is controlled remotely over SSH via the Raspberry Pi’s WiFi connection, and snapshots of the webcam feed are available via a Motion web server. The motors of the Dagu Wild Thumper 4WD chassis are driven by a Pololu Dual MC33926 Motor Driver for Raspberry Pi connected to a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. A Pololu A-Star 32U4 Mini LV interfaces with and records readings from temperature, pressure, humidity, and UV/IR/visible light sensors.

It wasn’t available when they built the robot, but coyotlgw points out the A-Star 32U4 robot controller with Raspberry Pi bridge is an option to consider for similar builds. This robot connects the Raspberry Pi and A-Star Mini with USB; the robot controller would make I²C communication easier. You would still need external motor drivers, because the robot controller’s MAX14870 is not appropriate for the Wild Thumper motors.

For more pictures, details, and a discussion of the issues encountered during the build, see the forum post.

Bionic hand

Posted by Ryan on 23 March 2017

Customer Elise Pham made a bionic hand: a two-fingered gripper triggered with biofeedback. A Pololu Maestro servo controller monitors the trigger source and signals the servo to close the gripper. In this video, she uses a mechanical sensor for biofeedback, and she is exploring using a MyoWare Muscle Sensor as a future enhancement. Her earlier video shows using a MyoWare Muscle Sensor to control a servo like in our demonstration video.

April 10 update: Elise’s project won 1st Award for the 2017 Synopsys Science Fair and was also nominated to advance and compete in the 2017 National Broadcom MASTERS. Additionally, Elise was selected by the Santa Clara County Office of Education to participate in Steve Wozniak’s Silicon Valley Comic Con Science Fair.

Raspberry Pi line following with QTR-8RC and WiringPi

Posted by Ryan on 22 March 2017

Customer Thomas Broughton made a line follower robot controlled by a Raspberry Pi that directly connects to a Pololu QTR-8RC reflectance sensor array. A Raspberry Pi is not typically good for a timing-sensitive application because it runs a regular computer operating system, so it’s nice to see Thomas was able to get it to reliably read the sensor array. The robot also uses four 42×19mm pololu wheels, a Pololu 5V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S18V20F5, and two Sharp distance sensors.

His Python code and more discussion are in his blog post.

Bartending robot

Posted by Ryan on 20 March 2017

Two Bit Circus is building a “micro-amusement park” in Los Angeles, and this robotic bartender will be one of the exhibits. It uses peristaltic pumps to load libations into hand-held shakers, mixes the drinks, and dispenses them. The animatronic motions of the robot are orchestrated by a Maestro servo controller and a Raspberry Pi.

More pictures and details can be found in the Make magazine article featuring the robot.

Zumo 32U4s with CMUcam5 Pixy

Posted by Ryan on 17 March 2017

Customer Carlos Ambrozak developed an “Introduction to Robotics” course that includes a lab where students work on visual object tracking. The example project is two Zumo 32U4 robots playing cat and mouse. One Zumo has a large blue ball on it and drives around avoiding obstacles. The other has a CMUcam5 Pixy on a pan-tilt mount that looks for the blue ball and follows the other robot. The Zumo 32U4 controls the camera via I2C. The lesson’s provided source code is available on GitHub.

New Products

Motoron M1U550 Single Serial Motor Controller
Motoron M1U550 Single Serial Motor Controller (Header Pins Soldered)
Motoron M2T550 Dual I²C Motor Controller (Header Pins Soldered)
3pi+ 2040 Robot - Turtle Edition (75:1 LP Motors), Assembled
Ribbon Cable with Pre-Crimped Terminals 10-Color M-F 60" (150 cm)
Motoron M2T550 Dual I²C Motor Controller
3pi+ 2040 Control Board
5V, 3.4A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D30V30F5
3.3V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S8V9F3
LPS22DF Pressure/Altitude Sensor Carrier with Voltage Regulator
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